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Rafael Benitez and Real Madrid will be hoping to open up a comfortable gap at the top of their Champions League group with a win when they host the French champions Paris Saint-Germain. Laurent Blanc and his team travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for a crunch encounter against the ten-time European champions with both sides level on points and will battle it out for their status as the group winners.
Both teams have made a spectacular start to the season and are unbeaten in all competitions. Real Madrid have been solid yet unspectacular under new manager Rafa Benitez as Los Blancos have been outstanding defensively and are yet to concede a single goal in the Champions League. The same can be said about the away side. Laurent Blanc’s men are unbeaten since January 2015 in all competitions and have been just as impressive defensively. Both sides have kept a clean sheet in all three group games so far.
Kickoff & Telecast
Channel: Ten Action
Live Stream: Ten Sports Live
Date and Time: Tuesday, 3 October – 20:45 (Wednesday, 4 October – 01:15 AM IST)
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Team News
Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez will be delighted with the return of defensive threesome of Keylor Navas, Pepe and Sergio Ramos. The two central defenders have missed a few games this season due to injuries and are now training normally with the rest of the squad. They are still waiting to find out about midfielder Luka Modric and striker Karim Benzema. Both players are set to undergo a late fitness test after sustaining hip and thigh injuries respectively. James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale are set to miss out as well.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc will be without the South American duo Javier Pastore and centre back Marquinhos. Both players are definitely ruled out with illness and a hamstring problem. However, the away side will be delighted with the return of defender David Luiz. The Brazilian sustained a knee injury during the international break and has missed the last four games for PSG.
Probable Lineups
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Navas, Danilo, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema
Paris St Germain (4-3-3): Trapp, Van der Wiel, Luiz, Silva, Maxwell, Verratti, Motta, Matuidi, Di Maria, Cavani, Ibrahimovic
Form
Real Madrid retained top spot in the La Liga table over the weekend as goals from Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese gave them a 3-1 home win over Las Palmas. The Castilian side have the best defensive record in the Spanish top flight, with just four goals conceded in their 10 matches to date.
Real have not lost a competitive match since their defeat to Juventus in the first leg of last season's Champions League semi-final in May. The hosts are also on an 8-match unbeaten run against French opponents, winning five and drawing three.
Last 5 games: W-W-D-W-D (Last match: Real Madrid 3-1 Las Palmas)
Paris Saint-Germain are unbeaten across all competitions this season, winning all but three of their fixtures to date. The Parisians have a 10-point lead at the top of Ligue 1, with former Real star Angel Di Maria scoring at the weekend to give them a narrow win at Rennes.
Last 5 games: W-W-D-W-W (Last match: Rennes 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain)
Key Stats
- Real Madrid and PSG are yet to concede a single goal in the Champions League this season.
- Real Madrid have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 matches against PSG in all competitions.
- The last three meetings between these two sides have produced two wins for Real Madrid.
Prediction
Real Madrid should be able to fight it out and get the goals on their home turf. They will be expected to beat the away side and end their unbeaten run, with Ronaldo and Benzema among the goals in what promises to be a thrilling, well-fought encounter at the Bernabeu.
Predicted score: Real Madrid 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain
Betting Odds (bet365)
Real Madrid – 4/5
Draw – 14/5
PSG – 15/4
